Six of the best Android smartphones: June 2016

The Nexus 6P is an odd beast indeed.

From a tech point of view it's a powerhouse, with its sharp display and powerful Snapdragon 810 processor. But the exterior is something that might not appeal to all - it's bulky and top-heavy and the fingerprint reader is placed in an odd spot.

It also ditches the much-loved wireless charging feature.

Tech spec:

• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
• 5.7-inch 1440 x 2560 pixels AMOLED multi-touch display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994 with Adreno 430
• 3GB of RAM
• 12.3-megapixel rear camera
• 8-megapixel front camera
• Non-user-replaceable 3450mAh Li-Ion battery
• Colors: Aluminum, Graphite, Frost.

LG takes its previous flagship smartphone and brings it up to 2016 standards. It also brings back the user-replaceable battery.

Tech spec:

• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
• 5.3-inch quad HD IPS display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution (554 pixels-per-inch)
• Snapdragon 820 with an Adreno 530 GPU
• 4GB of RAM
• Removable Li-Ion 2,800 mAh battery
• MicroSD card slot
• Dual rear cameras; a 16-megapixel camera with a 78-degree field of view, and an 8-megapixel camera with a 135-degree field of view
• 8-megapixel front-facing camera
• Fingerprint sensor
• Color options: Silver, Titan, Gold, and Pink

Not a fan of the huge Android smartphones that seem to be all the rage these days? Then the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact could be worth a look. This is essentially an Xperia Z5 crammed into a more compact shell.

Tech spec:

• Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
• 4.6-inch HD 720p (1280 x 720) Triluminos display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 with Adreno 430
• 2GB of RAM
• 23-megapixel rear camera
• 5-megapixel front camera
• 2700mAh Li-Ion battery
• Waterproof and dust tight (IP65 and IP68)
• Colors: White, Graphite Black, Coral, yellow.

Not the most powerful handset by far, but the Motorola Moto G is one of the best handsets for the money, doubly so given that you can buy it unlocked for under $200.

Tech specs:

• Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop)
• 5.0 inch 720 x 1280 pixel IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen featuring Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Quad-core Snapdragon 410 with 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 with Adreno 306 GPU
• 1GB of RAM in the 8GB storage version, 2GB in the 16GB storage version
• 8/16GB of storage
• Non-removable Li-Ion 2470 mAh battery
• 13-megapixel rear-facing camera
• 5-megapixel front-facing camera
• Micro SD card support
• IPX7 certified - water resistant up to 1 meter for 30 minutes
• Color options: Black and White, but with many accent and trim options

Tech spec:

• Android 5.0 (Lollipop), upgrades depend on carrier
• 5.0 inch 1080 x 1920 pixel Super LCD3 capacitive display featuring Corning Gorilla Glass 4
• Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 CPU with Adreno 430
• 3GB of RAM
• Non-removable Li-Po 2840 mAh battery
• 20-megapixel rear-facing camera
• 4-megapixel front-facing camera
• FM radio
• Quick Charge support
• Colors: Gunmetal Gray, Amber Gold, Silver/Rose gold, Gold/Pink